Happy: Most of my field moves worked... and I got to skate for 5 hours (yes, I'm obsessed. And yes, I'm kinda dying right now )
Sad: my 3 turns didn't *work, that is)

My knee feels better... and Casey, I always "crumple" when I fall, so I practically always fall on my knees And... once I fell with my legs open. Not splits, but on the INSIDES of my knees. Wait, not once, I did that twice It hurt I don't think I ever have fewer than around 3 bruises. lol

I like OVA... it's expensive (though the deal you got is awesome, I must say... I noticed that for my level it's like $200 amonth, which isn't too bad, but... meh, right now I skate more at Everett my brother, mom and I have a family membership for $150 that gets us unlimited public sessions there... and the daytime/morning sessions are empty! individual one costs $90... it's a pretty good deal )) so I dont' skate there as much. I'll probably see you around one of these days! I'll be at the camp next week, thurs/fri, if you're there at all those days

Happy:

• When I had a clear path and not getting blocked, my Bronze Moves was pretty much smooth sailing. Even my slower, weaker side (LFO3's) is getting faster...
• Alt forward Xovers - WOO HOO!!! I was going pretty fast and it was very easy to get thru.
• Alt backward Xovers - Can't complain about them much. Just wished I had an emptier rink so I can go full steam ahead like Sat. night. (I knew I did it right when afterwards a beginning kid skated over and said "You're GOOD!!!" and she said it like she just met a celebrity.
• Rest of my moves are fine.

Sad:

• 5 step mohawk is where things are challenging. Not b/c I couldn't do them, but b/c I had a crowd to maneuver. Otherwise, I did okay on those too.
• Doing RFI3's at full speed are a challenge...
  
• Doing RFI mohawks at speed is still a challenge... but it would give me extra confidence for my test (and relief from my secondary coach) if I could do them at full speed.
• Lower back was bothering me towards the end of the session.

__________________
Cheers,
jazzpants

11-04-2006: Shredded "Pre-Bronze FS for Life" Club Membership card!!!
Silver Moves is the next "Mission Impossible"
(Dare I try for Championship Adult Gold someday???)

Thank you for the support, you guys!!!

I concur. Your leg should be as high as when you are holding out your stroking extension, which means about 45 to 50 degrees. Hip level means 90 degrees, aka camel position, and definitely not landing position.

Casey- I'll answer your latest pm tomorrow, I should already be in bed, hehe.

LOL, me too! But we're both up right now it seems, because this just got posted as I was catching up on posts. I just got home not long ago, and I have a freestyle session to attend in less than 4 hours...oh jeez!

__________________
Casey Allen Shobe | http://casey.shobe.info
"What matters is not experience per se but 'effortful study'."
"At first, dreams seem impossible, then improbable, and eventually inevitable" ~ Christopher Reeve

Sad: no clean flips last night Not for lack of trying. I have no idea why, except that the ice was pretty crappy (shouldn't the club get a discount on the ice when the rink guy decided not to resurface for us because the session before us - "Camp Ice" only had two kids and the coach on it and "the ice is only a little marked up"? Um, it's been sitting there un-done for two hours before we get on, and halfway through our session it's dry, crunchy and chewed up into styrofoam.)

Happy: Salchow-loop is solid. Spins were okay. I did get a couple of really good sit spins and managed eight rotations on a backspin. And we did three straight run-throughs of my Interp program as prep for the competition I'm doing in a couple weeks. I forgot the props AGAIN and worked on the miming parts instead.

Irritating: two young girls spent the whole session - two hours - on the same hockey circle in one corner, doing crossovers occassionally but mostly just standing in the middle talking. My coach ended up going over and asking them to move because it was the jump corner and they were in the way of people's landings. I know it's summer and the session is open to everyone regardless of level or discipline but it's still not a public session. Use the whole rink to skate and get off the ice if all you're going to do is chat.

Welcome back to the ice!
Yesterday, I manged to get to the rink! Ran through segements of my freeskate program, and all is intact. Worked on Bronze moves in a effort to make peace with what I couldn't do on Tuesday.
Will start skating at a rink that is cheaper and closer to home, but with a smaller surface next week ( actually as early as tomorrow) and go to my home rink for lessons/practice once a week (damn stupid rink management!)

__________________
Adult Nationals, 2009 "The Time of My Life"

Happy: Went skating Thursday and managed to skate almost everything on my list somewhat above mediocre!!! Even my right 3-turns (although they were somewhat forced...)
AND-I dropped my skates off at the pro shop to get my blade re-mounted. The guy looked at it and knew right away that it was really screwed up. He asked me how I even managed to skate on it....well, I have managed, just not that well. So, I will pick them up on Sunday in time for the next public session, straight and sharp Hopefully, they won't need any more adjusting (then I will know it's just me)

Sad: No matter what I do and how well I think I do it, dear daughter always has a smarta** remark! Teenagers!! I sometimes wish I'd left her home!

Also, I must be a little child magnet when I spin-right when my leg is ready to whip around, here comes a little kid ready to tell me something fantastic they can do on the ice! So I have to screech to a stop and politely tell them to stay clear of my "blades of death" so they don't get hurt!!

There weren't too many kids during the public session, however, when we first got there, a sign was posted that there was no public skate!!! AHHH! I explained to the guy that I checked their website and it wasn't posted on their homepage, and just drove 1.5 hours.......after my spiel, he said he was going to let me skate anyway!!

And, last but not least, hubby nixed the idea of summer lessons.....even as drop-in. Said the price of gas was outrageous and that would make everything too expensive.......so ya' hit 'em with the most expensive thing first, then ya' ease in somethin' cheaper! So I mentioned that we could split a lesson during public session on an occasional Sunday---he's mulling that one over! He might go for that! He needs edge work and I need 3-turn help (don't know what to do with my arms)....might get my way afterall!

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Skate@Delaware
Ah, show skating!!! I do it for the glitter!

"Blades of Death" LOL!!! Are you reading Dilbert these days? (i.e. "Fists of Death") Can I borrow this term?

*THIS* is exactly what I mean when I say "You do not learn spins thru osmosis..." And last time I've checked, I'm not a tea bag either...

Other thing I've noticed (but this could just be me but...) I attract more kids (little girls in particular) when I'm spinning. When I'm working on my Bronze Moves (or jumping for that matter), I rarely get any attention. (Which is why I was surprised when a kid said that I was good Sat. night. I was just doing my Bronze moves pattern...)

I guess that's more motivation to work on Bronze Moves... keep dem pesky little kids away. (Just kidding, you kids who are reading this thread. Auntie Jazzpants actually loves kid... just NOT "blades of death" chopped up...)

__________________
Cheers,
jazzpants

11-04-2006: Shredded "Pre-Bronze FS for Life" Club Membership card!!!
Silver Moves is the next "Mission Impossible"
(Dare I try for Championship Adult Gold someday???)

Thank you for the support, you guys!!!

Sad: My practicing today was rather bleh I did practically nothing for an hour... though I made SOME progress (see happy )
I found otu that one of my good friends at the rink's mom has cancer. Man, that made me think a lot about the complaints I have. I'm so lucky. I'm healthy and my family is healthy. I felt so horrible for her! I gave her a big, huge hug... her mom's been battling it (on and off, I suppose) for 10 years The girl's such a sweetheart, too.
And, I went to see my doctor about my swollen, warm, aching (though not too bad) knee, and she said that it might have been a hairline fracture of my kneecap...

Happy:
MY KNEECAP IS NOT FRACTURED!!!! yayyyyyyy... trust me, I was THRILLED when I heard that just a bruise! I can deal with bruises. I think I'm getting kneepads though, in order to let it FULLY heal... (I've hit this knee hard multiple times which is part of the reason that it's bothering me as much as it is, and getting so swollen)
I had FUN at the rink today. Lots of fun. Before, I was so focused on doing moves, I'd get discouraged, and start feeling... kinda bleh. And today, I had fun. Just plain fun.
I also made some progress on my 3 turns... it's not the TURN that's the problem, it's the step forward to the nEXT three turn Also, before I got tired, my salchow was decent, and my toeloop is less pathetic

Happy: Really needed to skate today after a weird day at work...and had a great session! Spins improved by leaps and bounds. I think I finally figured out the trick to getting centered, and my free leg is *just* about right where I want it. Got a couple of controlled revs on the backspin, too!

Worked on my loops a lot, and managed a couple of good waltz-loops. Sal is getting more height and power. Flips are getting better, too!

Uber-happy: Came thisclose to an outside spread eagle! It was more straight than outside, but previous attempts have been more inside than anything. So if I can just muster up a bit more bravery, hopefully I'll be on a stronger outside edge soon.

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~No thinking, breathing, or hesitation!~

Happy (very) - that rotten CCW mohawk I need in four weeks finally arrived - together with the steps before and after it! And stayed!! For about a hundred repetitions. Now I need to get it about 4 times as fast with 10 times the ice coverage and I stand a chance of keeping up. And I did it in front of witnesses - one of whom said "so where's the problem bit - did you chicken out?" "No I did it - this bit" (repeating the mohawk) - and she said something like "But that's so smooth and confident. I'd never have guessed you couldn't do that half an hour ago!"

And where was my coach to witness this amazing breakthrough? Hold your breath - he was getting on TV. We have a new ice skating show coming on TV here called Celebrities on Thin Ice (the first skating show I can recall ever being shown on Aussie TV), and he's one of the coaches. Can't wait to see the show - according to the TV promo's, it starts on Jul 3rd.

More happy - I've just finished the first batch of skirts I'm making for our local synchro team, so have time to play on the computer.

Happy: Skated pretty well tonight - I couldn't bring myself to try a loop or flip, and my spins were gone, but I still practiced spinning a bunch, and general skating went really well. I moved very fast the whole time with only a couple small breaks during the 3.5 hour session. I'm starting to get really comfortable with reversing footwork directions whenever I want, and every time a halfway-tolerable song came on, I'd skate to the music, and apparently I did pretty well because an older adult hockey skater of substantial skill came up when I was putting on my guards and asked how far I got. I said "huh, what?" and he proceeded to ask whether I'd ever competed at regional/national competitions. I said "huh, what are you talking about? No, I just started skating in November." He said that was pretty impressive - I dunno - I guess it's just because I skate fast. I skated hard almost the whole time, plus rollerbladed a mile each way to and from the rink...so I'm pretty darn knackered now, and going to bed!

Sad:Just the boot situation - any skating weaknesses don't matter in comparison.

__________________
Casey Allen Shobe | http://casey.shobe.info
"What matters is not experience per se but 'effortful study'."
"At first, dreams seem impossible, then improbable, and eventually inevitable" ~ Christopher Reeve

Is this at the Pond? I think you've said before you've been skating there in the summer. If so, we might run into each other some Sunday since I have a lesson on the last freestyle session, which is right before the public skate. I think I'm usually the only adult on that session, so say hello if you are there! And btw, there is no ice next weekend at all there. No sign was posted when I was there on Thursday, but the sign was up yesterday.

Pat

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August 22, back on the ice!

I didn't see this earlier. Is your husband aware what we pay for petrol (gas) in Europe? It works out as over $6.00 per gallon.... so no, it is not expensive in the USA, rather the reverse!

I hope you can persuade him to reverse that decision.

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Mrs Redboots
~~~~~~~~
I love my computer because my friends live in it!
Ice dancers have lovely big curves!

Happy:
Went to the smaller rink today and made peace with Bronze moves! My power threes simply ROCKED!!!

Sad:
It was hard to do a program runthrough- I was blocked at the beginning!

__________________
Adult Nationals, 2009 "The Time of My Life"

Yes, The Pond! I will be there tomorrow-with brats in tow (I hope it's not awfully crowded-wish they would open the olympic side for public skate!!!!)! Look for me, I'm the haggard looking one hopefully recovered from a 2-day + migraine........ I pick up my hopefully fixed skates from the pro shop. My blade was severely mis-mounted at my home rink and they are fixing it so I may not be able to skate at first because I'm used to 'leaning' to compensate!

We've managed to be up there every other Sunday and every other Thursday. We are alternating weeks with the pool and beach!

Don't you love how they post stuff last-minute? Although I've been told to check the calendar page on their website.

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Skate@Delaware
Ah, show skating!!! I do it for the glitter!

If you knew him-any money going out is too much money!!! He once told me I spent too much money on food and we needed to cut back on what we ate! Of course, he is the one with the biggest appetite!

I cart kids up to the rink in the summer-he wanted me to charge them about $5 per head to cover gas-which I refused on the grounds that I was going to the rink anyway and it's the same whether the van is full or not.

He's cheap! I'm used to it and more than make up for his cheapness! You should have seen his face when I got my new skates and paid the $400+ for them-he almost croaked!

So, I will spring for private coaching from an ice dancer-which is what I wanted in the first place. Seen from a different perspective, it will seem cheaper to him (compared to the alternative). After 16 years of being married to Mr. Cheap, I've learned how to manipulate the man into getting what I want (sometimes it works, sometimes not)!

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Skate@Delaware
Ah, show skating!!! I do it for the glitter!

Sorry i missed you! I skated early today since my coach is away. I hope your public session was okay! And actually, a sign posted more than a week before is really good for them. Used to be that things wouldn't be posted until the same day, which wasn't much help. And the web site never used to be updated, but they seem to be doing better at that, too.

Perhaps I will see you in two weeks!

Pat

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August 22, back on the ice!

HAPPY:I finally had the blade on my right skate moved-it was moved 3/8" to the right! The guy in the pro-shop could not believe it was so messed up....when I told him where it was done he just shook his head. I can now glide on my right foot in a straight line!

I did spend the whole of today's session working up on my moves getting the feel again: edges, 3-turns (which were really great-just have to get the arm position thing figured out), rockers, and the real tell-all was the clock-wise crossovers, which I had not been able to do until today!!! YAY!!! Then I did some waltz jumps but they are a different problem all together, on one I landed too far forward on my toepick and splatted forwards.... :-{ My daughter said she'd help me with those, my back is too straight on everything. I did a realllllly nice scratch spin that no-one but my skate-angel saw!

SAD: (well, only a little sad) Now I have to unlearn my "leaning" technique that I've been using to compensate for such a bad mount. AND my DAUGHTER is a MEAN skate teacher! Nothing makes her happy! WAAAAHH!

Pat-sorry to have missed you! I went up to every skating adult asking "HI! Are you Pat?" Met lots of nice people though!

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Skate@Delaware
Ah, show skating!!! I do it for the glitter!

LOL, that's so funny! Maybe next time! I expect to be there on the 10th. Glad you had a good time, though.

Pat

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August 22, back on the ice!

Happy: All the competitions are over for 3 weeks, and there are no major ones now until the end of August, at the earliest! Only recreational matches now, and none of those for 3 weeks. Last night's match was fun, as we were skating for Other Woman's team. She and her Husband were the only couple on our team to win their draw, even when she put the best skater of the lot of us on in a very simple dance.... that particular couple were held to a draw!

We had one judge in our favour and 2 against, so lost our match. I actually thought for a second we were going to have a majority in our favour, but he went with the other couple (the so-and-so!). I spoke to him afterwards and he said it had been close, so I asked what would have tipped it. He said we still need to work on skating as a couple, not two individuals (which I knew), and on finishing off our edges (which I also knew), so I'm pleased there's nothing too badly wrong these days. Mind you, these matches are very much luck of the draw - you get drawn against really good skaters, you might as well not bother, but if you get drawn against another couple your own standard or poorer.....

Had great fun social dancing, including an utterly terrifying British Waltz about six times faster than I normally go.... help.... goodness, it was fun!

Sad: Nothing, really, except the thought of going back to basics, rechoreographing the step sequence in our free dance for the fourth time, and all the work that lies ahead! We are both exhausted today - glad Monday's our rink's day off. Back to work tomorrow!

__________________
Mrs Redboots
~~~~~~~~
I love my computer because my friends live in it!
Ice dancers have lovely big curves!

Not that happy a session... Mostly sad, in fact! It was interestingly crowded for a summer Saturday afternoon and way too short!!! And I had so little time on ice to practice b/c I was running late and had to rush to my pilates towards the end of the day.

Funny note: I was trying to make a quick right hand turn at an intersection and almost run into this one guy that looked very familiar... MY PRIMARY COACH!!! Ooops!!! He looked like he was heading up for the Gay Pride Festival in San Francisco... He had this shocked look on his face, but pulled over on my passenger side long enough to tell me that he left VM telling me my lesson has to be moved b/c he had some last minute thing he had to go to. Then he walked away. Didn't say a WORD about me almost running him over... Oooookay....

__________________
Cheers,
jazzpants

11-04-2006: Shredded "Pre-Bronze FS for Life" Club Membership card!!!
Silver Moves is the next "Mission Impossible"
(Dare I try for Championship Adult Gold someday???)

Thank you for the support, you guys!!!